Gaming News - Page 419

Outriders developer People Can Fly tells investors that it hasn't received royalties for game sales, which indicates the game hasn't become profitable yet.

After going public with an IPO, People Can Fly is trying to maintain transparency with investors. This includes regular updates on earnings and game sales. The company just put out a recent post alleging that Outriders, the latest shooter from People Can Fly, hasn't broken even yet because they haven't received any royalty payments.

People Can Fly's contract with Square Enix stipulates that the developer will receive royalty payments 45 days after the game has recouped all costs, including distribution, production, and advertising. The studio speculates that the absence of a royalty payment simply means Outriders hasn't become profitable during Square Enix's Q1 period.

Cyberpunk 2077's release was so controversial that CD Projekt RED is facing a securities fraud lawsuit over it.

Gamers still widely pan the sci-fi FPS. But not everyone is negative. CD Projekt devs step in to thank fans for their positivity, which helps keep morale and motivations high. The truth is that CDPR devs were disappointed by the game too and that's why they've made a long-term commitment to fix it, which continues with the big new v1.3 update patch.

"This is sincere. This is from the heart. I know a lot of people were disappointed with this game. I really do. A lot of us were disappointed with this game, and I really appreciate those of you who have stuck with us, who believe in this project, believe in this game, believe in this world," Cyberpunk 2077 senior quest designer Patrick Mills said in a recent stream.

CD Projekt RED continues its patch spree for Cyberpunk 2077 by rolling out the third largest update yet.

Cyberpunk 2077's new v1.3 update makes some big fixes and shores up a bunch of glitches across all platforms. Some of the more dramatic changes are the inclusion of a respec option right into the perk tree, an improved mini-map for driving, and the slaying of a pesky save corruption bug on consoles. That last one is pretty big and affected a number of saves across PC and consoles.

Based on the patch notes you'll definitely want to download this update as soon as possible. CDPR has made a multitude of tweaks and adjustments to a lot of quests and is slowly but surely shaping Cyberpunk 2077 into a more competent sci-fi experience.

If Roblox Corp's latest buyout is anything to go by, the billion-dollar social game sensation Roblox may eventually get native voice and video chat at some point.

Roblox Corp today acquired Guilded, an interactivity platform designed to connect gamers with various options like voice and video chatting. The company didn't disclose exact terms of the acquisition and Guilded will remain an independent company.

While it's not explicitly confirmed by executives, it's implied Guilded's solutions may show up in Roblox in some form. As per a press release, Guilded's tech goes beyond chatting and communication to also include in-game bots:

Diablo fans find the Diablo II Resurrected beta lacking, especially when it comes to social and communication features.

So far I've found the Diablo II Resurrected is an amazing experience. The graphics are incredible, the lighting is immaculate, and it's great looking at all the old acts, characters, monsters, items, and of course abilities completely reborn in HD. That being said, the beta does have major problems. We know the D2R beta is just that--a beta that doesn't represent the final game. But some design decisions seem permanent, including the awful in-game chatbox design and minor issues with making/joining games.

It seems like fans agree. A number of Diablo II fans who pre-ordered D2R or get into the early access beta say they aren't impressed with the game's interaction features.

Electronic Arts has made over $16 billion from live services in the past eight years, and digital revenues are becoming more and more important for the publisher.

EA's billion-dollar empire is built on digital. The past decade has shown a few clear trends for Electronic Arts: Digital is dominating, game sales are becoming less relevant, and live services are meaningful for both short-, medium-, and long-term earnings. Case in point: Live services made up 81% of EA's FY21 digital net revenues. EA has flexibly adapted to a more digital-oriented marketplace and diversified its earnings to rely on in-game purchases rather than raw game sales. As a result the company has become a leading force in the industry.

Over the past 8 years from FY14 through FY21, the games-maker has made a whopping $16.5 billion from live services. Live services made up 42% of EA's total $38 billion net revenues across the 8 years, and over 63% of digital net revenues for the period. Live services have grown 292% over the past 8 years and represent a CAGR of 19%.

As the second most-used games engine in the industry, Unity will help define gaming's new metaverse concept and usher in a new era of 3D gaming--at least that's what CEO John Riccitiello hopes.

Photo: Jon Radoff

The metaverse is on the horizon and has big potential for gaming. It's a nebulous term that combines modern technological trends under one interconnected ecosystem, similar to how the internet is the core for services, gaming, communication, monetization, and entertainment.

UPDATE: Activision confirms the August 19 reveal for Call of Duty Vanguard:

BREAKING NEWS: This year's mainline WWII-themed Call of Duty will be revealed on August 19 in a special Warzone event, Sony has confirmed.

A new advertisement on the PS5 PlayStation Store has outed Call of Duty Vanguard's reveal plans. According to the listing, Vanguard will be announced on Thursday, August 19 at 1:30PM within the free-to-play Warzone. While Activision nor Sledgehammer have yet to confirm the news, we'll probably hear more today or tomorrow about the event.

EA DICE won't have a single-player campaign for Battlefield 2042, which is a good thing in my opinion -- as they can purely concentrate on where it matters: the multiplayer. But that doesn't mean there isn't a story behind Battlefield 2042, which has been explored beautifully with a 9-minute short film "Exodus", check it out:

You might remember Michael K. Williams from Battlefield 4 back in 2013, where he was in the game as Sgt. Kimble "Irish" Graves -- but he looks much better under the next-gen graphics that EA DICE has cooking up inside of Battlefield 2042. Irish makes a return, and what a return it is.

I'm actually fine with DICE not having a single-player campaign if we at least get a back story in the way of these awesome short films like Exodus. Anyway, let us know what you think about the Battlefield 2042 "Exodus" short film in the comments below.

Before I even start, remember this is a technical playtest and not the final game -- but early reports from the Battlefield 2042 technical playtest report that the Xbox Series X version of the game runs better, smoother than the PC version of the game.

Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson tweeted out that he was receiving reports that "the Xbox version of the Battlefield 2042 tech test is much smoother than the PC version". The PC version of Battlefield 2042 on the other hand, once it launches, have NVIDIA-powered DLSS and Reflex technologies that will make it far superior than any console could ever wish to be.

It seems the console versions of Battlefield 2042 aren't perfect, as EA DICE had to pull the plug on the PlayStation 5 version of the Battlefield 2042 technical playtest over a "critical issue". The full game launches on October 22, so let's hope things are worked out by then.